Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Yaesu FTM-300DR: What the Anytone D578 could have been....


Salivating for a new radio?

The soon to be available Yaesu  FTM-300DR provides stable and reliable RF power output of 50 watts.on both the 2m and 70cm bands for those interested in analog FM voice, 1200/9600 baud APRS/AX.25 and Yaesu's own proprietary Fusion digital voice mode based on C4FM technology.

This new mobile radio which includes a remote head option also has dual independent receivers capable of V+V, U+U, V+U and U+V operation modes. It also permits monitoring of Fusion on either band at the same time too. 

Does it have a remote head?

While the Anytone D578 series of radio and its open standard based DMR, which is the most popular digital voice mode today, lacks the remote head feature, most of the same basic features are similar with a few exceptions. Yaesu clearly listened to the market based on the excitement and disappointment generated by the Anytone D578 DMR radio.

Like most Yaesu mobile radios, wide extended receive has been standard from the 118-400 MHz VHF band includes AM aircraft reception and FM also.   Reception from 480 to 1 GHz is only in FM and YSF mode

Does it have bluetooth and remote PTT for safe driving?

The Yaesu FTM-300DR also includes built-in Bluetooth communication. This allows hands-free operation with the YAESU SSMBT10 or other commercially available headsets. The SSM-BT10 is equipped with a PTT button and is also compatible with VOX operation. Using the new USB charger cable - SCU-41 with the FTM-300DR controller, the SSM-BT10 can be easily charged. The SSM-BT10 works for approximately 20 hours on a single charge.

Is it FCC certified?

The Yaesu FTM-300DR has the FCC ID of K6620715X40 and was submitted on January 27th 2020.  This does not mean it is certified for amateur radio use, but its likely no drama will result after its release much like we saw from Anytone with its "Pro" version compared to the "amateur radio" version.



How much will the FTM-300DR cost?

This radio will start out at $499.99 USD and will compete with the DMR focused Anytone D578, the D-Star capable Icom ID-5100A which are all roughly around the same cost.  The Yaesu FTM-400XDR is currently at the same price of the latest Fusion radio we are talking about here, so expect this radio to drop in price.


Where can I talk about this radio?

HVDN was an early advocate behind the Northstar Digital Net which meets on talk group 31630 on the Brandmeister Network at 8:00 PM Eastern US time every Tuesday.   The "STEM" talk group is cross linked to All-Star and Echolink and makes it possible for anyone with a similar All-Star to Fusion bridge to cross connect.

Interesting Links








1 comment:

  1. Missing here:

    Anytone d578 has 3 bands,not only 2

    anytone has cross mode, does the ftm300? I can't find that info anywhere.

    $499 is not the same as $399 unless you're just giving away $100 bills.

    Though difficult to speculate, if anytone releases the bluetooth remote control for the d578 that is rumored, that will be better than a remote head with a cord. Of course, this may never happen, but time will tell.

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